Flexible electric conductor



Dec. 18, 1934.

H. A. STAPLES 1,984,553

FLEXIBLE ELECTRtC C ONDUCTOR Filed July 1'7, 1931 III/Il VENTOR IN Horace/1. Slap/e5 iORNEY Patented Dec. 18, 1934 g f 1,984,553

UNITED STATES PATENT" OFFICE 1,984,553 I FLEXIBLE ELECTRIC coNnUc'ron Horace A. Staples, Plainfield, N. J., asslgnor to Phelps Dodge Copper Products Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application July 17, 1931, Serial No. 551,422

7 Claims. (Cl. 173-13) My invention relates to electrical conductors of rolls separately from the standing operation, and more particularly to a flexible electrical conor incident with it, into a tube with internal ductor cable designed for the transmission of flange 12 facing each other. The objects of these electrical power by means of very high voltages. flanges is to prevent the edges of the tube sliding It has been well known to those skilled in the by each other thus causing collapse. This also 5 art, for a long period, that when a voltage expermits the use of very much thinner metal. For ceeds a certain critical value for a conductor of a certain types of installation the metal may be corcertain diameter, the air in the vicinity of the rugated to allow for expansion. wire commences to break down and elect ici y With this construction the thin walled tube may 10 leaks from the cable into the surrounding air, be made lighter, which gives greater amount f 10 thereby producing a loss of power. elongation to prevent the breaking under strain This is known as corona loss. To reduce the prior to the failure of the outer wires. corona losses, it is desirable to have cables of The inner tube 11 is punched with holes 15 large ia This is prohibitive from not only simultaneous with the operation of forming the 15 cost but because of excessive weight and theretub t ll for drainage of t I 15 fore several types of hollow conductors have been I wish it distinctly understood that my hollow designed and used to overcome this disadvantage. core cable herein described and illustrated is in A11 these h ll w c ndu t h w v hav rthe form in which I desire to construct it and that tain inherent defects, some of which are difchanges or v riati may be made as may be flculties experienced in making joints and the desirable without departing from the salient fea- 20 splicing of two cables together. tures of my inventionand I therefore intend the ne O t Objects of this invention is P v following claims to cover such modifications as a cable that is economical in construction and one naturally fall within the lines of invention. that presents no difl'lculties in making joints. It I claim:-

will be observed that with this construction there 1, I a fl ibl condu to bl having a large 5 will be no inner section or core to be removed overall cross sectional area relative to its metallic and that the full strength of the core can be area, a, core comprising an ppen longitudinal u ed as a p Of the Completed cableseamed tube having the edges of the seam turned A fu t Obj is to P v 3 core that will inwardly to form abutting flanges to prevent the have the ma m strength 8 minimum tube from collapsing under circumferential com- 30 weight and because of full support for the outer pressi0n surface of high electrical conductivity these outer 2 The device of l i 1 including means to strands can be made of muc larger Wires than provide for the drainage of water from within found in the ordinary hollow cable. th hollow core I am aware that open seamed tubes have been 3 The device of claim 1 in which the wall f 35 used for inner cores before, but it was necessary t tubes is t d corrugated, 'm the core of Very heavy gauge to 4. A flexible conductor cable having a large come the s pp by the a j edgesoverall cross sectional area relative to its metallic The foregoing and other features of my area and including a core of thin walled open 40 i will now be described in connection with the seamed tubing having its edges of the seam turned accompanying drawing forming Part of this speciinwardly to form abutting flanges to prevent the i Wgich g ff fi g i gz gg tube from collapsing under circumferential comcore ca e n 1 5 pre erre a er w 10 e point out m the claims those features which I pression, an annular outer stranded surface th ith the core thro hout believe to be new and of my own invention. afnds B g: w us 45 In the drawing: z il ibl g du t r of the class described in The figure is a cross-section of my cable. ex 6 con c o In carrying out my invention I provide a thin combmatwn' core: comprising an open wall tube 11 for a hollow core over which a pluralseam tube having Its longltudmal edges turned my of wires 20 are stranded in a common inwardly so that they abut only when radial 50 cepted f r stresses are exerted on the core, and an annular In making the core 11 I may use a, thin strip f outer surface of high electric conductivity commetal preferably copper, although it may be a prising a plurality of individual conductors lighter alloy depending upon the special requirestranded thereon. ments. This strip of metal is formed by a series 6. The device of claim 5 in which the stranded wires of the outer surface are laid helically upon said core.

'7. A flexible conductor of the class described in combination, a hollow core comprising an open seam tube the edges of the longitudinal seam turned inwardly but not touching, and an annular outer surface of high electric conductivity stranded thereon, the edges of the seam so arranged that they cannot slip by each other thereby preventing the tube from collapsing under circumferential compression.

HORACE A. STAPLES. 

